I am obviously with the large majority of FT'ers that people who knowingly buy status without playing by the rules deserve to be punished.

Nevertheless, the lack of transparency with which programs are doing this is disconcerting. Sure, Hyatt isn't that big and I could probably avoid WoH altogether. But for the bigger programs like Marriott, it's hard to avoid them. (Sure, I could book Marriotts through booking.com. But as a frequent traveler, that would often entail leaving money or benefits on the table.)

So my point is that it is a bit disconcerting that the big loyalty programs can make us take-it-or-leave-it offers on their programs due to their considerable market power. And if you accept their terms, you have hardly any rights when it comes to conflict resolution and you're basically at their mercy.